2012 Nissan Frontier Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 23about this part
- Share
- 29%of 80 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 46,250miles
- Trend
- RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 23 complaints about the air bags of the 2012 Nissan Frontier, 29% of the 80 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 46,250 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The seatbelt has been replace two time and the airbag light is still on, now you got to replace the seat cusion this cost 1766.67, this is a safety issue. Me and my wife was in lake city s.c. On hw 52 and the air bag starting flashing for the second time.”
NHTSA complaint #11023555, filed 2017-09, 158,000 miles“I was hit from behind while completely stopped to make a left hand turn on a city street. The car that hit me, a 2006 Nissan altima, was travelling, I believe, between 45-50 MPH. Both vehicles were totaled. The airbag in my 2012 Nissan Frontier did not deploy. I don't believe that is normal, but Nissan will not comment. Within a week of the accident, I received a recall notification from Nissan regarding the airbag control unit not being calibrated properly. …”
NHTSA complaint #11010841, filed 2017-07, 46,250 miles“Side curtain airbags deployed for no reason while driving 5-10 MPH on flat road. Almost knocked me out and left me confused for awhile, and caused my ears to ring all day. Nissan north america sent some sort of rep to local dealer to download data from the truck to determine what happened. They then told me that the conditions were not met for airbags to have deployed. They replaced the airbag system and returned it to its original condition at no cost to myself. …”
NHTSA complaint #10898639, filed 2016-08, 43,000 miles“On the weekend september 17 2016 a red air bag light on my dashboard was and is blinking intermittent. I called three Nissan dealers and was informed that it is most likely the ocs sensor. Upon asking about the recall on Nissan ocs sensor I was told that the Frontier was not on the recall list. We feel that the ocs sensor on any Nissan vehicle should be on the recall list,no matter where the Frontier was manufactured. The red blinking light came on as we were going home. …”
NHTSA complaint #10908315, filed 2016-09, 45,600 miles“Side curtain airbags wrongfully deployed while driving at about 5-10 MPH, with no crash, and on a flat road. Creating an extremely dangerous situation for myself and others on the road around me. This truck has faulty programming that controls these airbags. They state that, instead of the airbags deploying in a crash, they are programmed to anticipate a crash and then deploy. Nissan north america sent an engineer to the dealership to download data from the truck to find out exactly what happened, and I only received limited data upon my request. …”
NHTSA complaint #10896442, filed 2016-08, 43,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 11007001Jul 8, 2024VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN 2005-2013 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA; DRIVER AIR BAG COVER CAMPAIGN ID #: PC945 and PC948 APPLIED VEHICLES: 2005-2013 Frontier (D40)…
- 10152524Nov 13, 2018AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT FLASHING INDICATING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC MODE IF YOU CONFIRM The air bag warning light is flashing slowly (repeating 2 seconds ON, 2 seconds OFF). NOTE: If…
- 10129119Jan 5, 2018Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign UPDATE January 5, 2018 The announcement from October 6, 2017 has been revised: - Dealers may now use revised TSB…
- 10117404Aug 15, 2017Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign Temporary suspension of this campaign on all affected 2004-2006 model year vehicles. Nissan is aware of reprogramming…
- 10119206Jun 23, 2017Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign ***** Campaign Summary***** Nissan is committed to customer satisfaction. Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Service…
- 10119202Jun 22, 2017VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN 2012-2014 TITAN, FRONTIER, AND XTERRA; AIR BAG DIAGNOSIS SENSOR UNIT INTRODUCTION Nissan is conducting a voluntary service campaign on certain specific…
- 10192562Apr 21, 2015SERVICE INFORMATION The applied vehicles are equipped with automatic door locks that lock all doors when the vehicle speed reaches 15 MPH. There is no instruction in the Owner?s…
- 10192513Jan 16, 2015SERVICE INFORMATION Changes or modifications to the front seat assembly trim materials may affect the proper operation of the Front Seat-Mounted Side-Impact Supplemental Air Bags…
- 10192506Jan 8, 2015IF YOU CONFIRM: Squeal/Squeak noise from the front brakes: While moving forward or reverse, with very light brake application (pedal pressure), after the vehicle has been…
- 10192305Jan 27, 2014SERVICE INFORMATION Information necessary to service the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) safely is included in the "RESTRAINTS" section of the Electronic Service Manual (ESM)…
Air bags: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 5% |
| 2022 | 3 | 3% |
| 2021 | 3 | 15% |
| 2020 | 1 | 4% |
| 2019 | 5 | 18% |
| 2018 | 2 | 8% |
| 2017 | 5 | 13% |
| 2016 | 10 | 23% |
| 2015 | 10 | 30% |
| 2014 | 11 | 26% |
| 2013 | 15 | 31% |
| 2012 | 23 | 29% |
| 2011 | 16 | 25% |
| 2010 | 19 | 32% |
| 2009 | 9 | 24% |
| 2008 | 21 | 15% |
| 2007 | 38 | 7% |
| 2006 | 26 | 4% |
| 2005 | 14 | 3% |
| 2004 | 6 | 9% |
| 2003 | 5 | 6% |
| 2002 | 5 | 4% |
| 2001 | 10 | 7% |
| 2000 | 12 | 6% |
| 1999 | 17 | 22% |
| 1998 | 12 | 9% |
Other parts of the 2012 Nissan Frontier
20 complaintsEngine
13 complaintsOther or unknown
9 complaintsElectrical system
7 complaintsBody and structure
7 complaintsSeat belts
5 complaintsVehicle speed control
5 complaintsSuspension
3 complaintsSeats
2 complaintsWheels
2 complaintsEngine cooling
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2012 Nissan Frontier
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology